Margaritaville® Cargo Blog

Fresh New Drink Recipes for Spring

Spring is the perfect time to try some exciting and unexpected ingredients in your frozen concoctions. Whether you're serving up delicious frozen treats at a party or sipping a tasty drink while you relax on the weekend, you're bound to discover a new favorite recipe!

Here are four new ingredients to try in your frozen concoctions this spring:

1. Rhum Agricole
A classic French spirit for hundreds of years, rhum agricole hails from the sunny tropics of the West Indies. Unlike the type of rum we're most familiar with in the U.S., which is made from molasses, rhum agricole goes to the source: It's made directly from sugarcane and is then distilled and aged. Rhum agricole is considered pure rum, without the sweeteners or additives that many other types of rum are mixed with. Rhum agricole has a distinct aromatic, earthy taste that adds an exciting new dimension to tropical drinks and other favorite concoctions, and deserves a place on your frozen concoction lineup. Here's an easy-to-make rhum agricole daiquiri to get you started - be sure to also try the spirit in your piña coladas and other favorite tiki drinks:

Ring in spring by adding some unexpected ingredients to your frozen concoctions.

2. Sotol
Mezcal may be having a moment as an intriguing alternative to tequila, but ring in the new year with sotol. This interesting spirit could be considered a distant, sweeter relative of tequila. While tequila and mezcal are made from agave, sotol is made from a plant called the "Desert Spoon." The spirit is harvested from the plant through a process similar to that of making tequila, but the result is a unique taste sensation: creamy, sweet and almost vanilla-like, an enticing contrast to tequila's zestier, limey flavors. Sotol is the state drink of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango in Mexico, and it's time you give it a try. The spirit adds a wonderful sweetness to margaritas and other concoctions - introduce yourself to sotol with the recipe below:

Strawberry Sotol Margarita

Ingredients:

3 ounces sotol

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

2 ounces lime juice

Sugar for glass rims

Lime wedges for garnish

Directions
Add ice to the ice reservoir and all ingredients to your Margaritaville® Frozen Concoction Maker®. Mix, and then pour into margarita glasses prepared with sugar rims. Add lime wedges for garnish and enjoy.

3. Cachaça
​Another type of rum to add to your frozen concoctions roster this year is cachaça. This spirit is similar to rhum agricole, in that it is made directly from sugarcane juice, and not molasses. However, cachaça only comes from Brazil, where it dates back to the 1700s and has since grown to become a nationally revered drink. Cachaça, like rhum agricole, has a deep and slightly earthy taste that's less cloying than that of mainstream types of rum, and is aged in barrels made from Brazilian wood to give it a distinct flavor. Cachaça is most well-known for being the star ingredient in the Brazilian staple drink, Caipirinha, which is similar to a mojito. Make your own Caipirinha below:

Caipirinha

Ingredients:

2 limes

2 teaspoons sugar

4 ounces cachaça

Directions
Wash the limes. Slice into quarters - keeping the peel on is the traditional preparation method - and place in a glass. Add the sugar and use the back of a spoon to muddle the limes and mix them with the sugar. Add ice to the ice reservoir and the lime mixture and cachaça to your Margaritaville® Frozen Concoction Maker®. Mix, and then pour into tumblers and enjoy.

4. Curaçao
While triple sec is likely the orange liqueur most reached for when crafting margaritas and other drinks, curaçao also deserves your attention. Curaçao is made with the bitter peel of oranges, and it likely traces its roots back to a Dutch-settled island off the coast of Venezuela a few hundred years ago. One unique form of the liqueur is the so-called blue curaçao, which, in its purest form, gets its pretty hue from the flowers of the Butterfly Pea plant. Curaçao is considered rather sweeter than its triple sec counterpart. Add the liqueur to your margaritas, or make the fun, classic tiki drink, the Blue Hawaiian, with the recipe below. If you can't find blue curaçao liqueur, you can use regular curaçao and add blue food coloring - we won't tell!

Blue Hawaiian

Ingredients:

2 ounces rum

2 ounces vodka

2 ounces blue curaçao liqueur

4 ounces pineapple juice

1/2 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce lime juice

1 ounce liquid sugar

Pineapple wedges for garnish

Maraschino cherries for garnish

Directions
Add ice to the ice reservoir and all ingredients to your Margaritaville® Frozen Concoction Maker®. Mix, and then pour into tall glasses. Slide pineapple wedges and maraschino cherries on plastic skewers, then add to drink glasses and enjoy.